TravelingDreamer
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Chapter 71 – We Got to Move It Move It
🕑 Added 2024-05-23 12:39:59 +0000 UTCAfter letting me off the hook regarding training, we took a train from Bucharest to Brasov. We toured Brasov, visited the history museum in Piaţa Sfatului, rented a car, and drove to the Gate.
Lis and Mahya touched the Gate, and Lis said, “Blech! I hate those.”
“You should read the local literature about them, especially the romantic stuff; it’s hilarious,” said Mahya.
I touched the Gate, my eyes got as big as saucers, and I asked, “They’re real?!”
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Travelers Gate #468217257
Destination: Království Krve
Status: Integrated
Mana level: 52
Threat level: Nosferatu–non. Other humans/beings–lethal.
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“What are those?” Asked Lyura.
“Human predators – blood drinkers. Never go to such a world; they’ll either eat you or make you a blood slave.” Answered Lis.
“With her element, she should be fine; they are very flammable.” Said Mahya.
“Bad.” Said Rue in my mind.
I said, "Yeah, buddy, they sound nasty," and scratched his neck. He grew by the day; his head almost reached my shoulder.
"You should buy him Telepathy so he can talk to all of us," Lis said.
"You all have the ability?"
They nodded.
"Then why are we talking out loud?"
"Looks more natural," Mahia said.
"Do we go in or give up on this gate?" asked Lyura.
"With Invisibility, there shouldn't be a problem," Lis replied, "Just to be safe, I'll cross first and return last."
I bought Rue Telepathy, and it cost 5 points! A familiar is an expensive business. Right after I bought him the ability, all three started scratching his ears and neck. Of course, the first thing he said to them was to ask for scratches; this dog just loved attention.
We popped in and out of the Gate, returned to Brasov, and took a train to Cluj-Napoca.
We toured Cluj-Napoca for three days, loved the architecture, and visited the baroque-era Bánffy Palace Museum. Then, we rented a car and drove to the Gate, which also led to Království Krve. By this point, I was expecting it.
From Romania, we flew to Lisbon, Portugal, and spent three days touring the city. We visited Belém Tower, Castelo de S. Jorge, and Jerónimos Monastery and enjoyed the food. I bought a significant supply of food for the future and told the vultures that it was mine and that they should buy their own if they wanted any. I got three pouts in reply, and Rue looked smug; he knew I’d share with him.
We rented a car and drove to the gate.
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Travelers Gate #369017227
Destination: Stinojopheleshawizhnzarnoshwitly
Status: Integrated
Mana level: 46
Threat level: Low
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What the hell?!
“I love those!” Lis exclaimed.
“What is it?”
“Genomey world.”
“How do you know?”
“The name. It’s always very long and ridiculous, and you need to learn to pronounce it correctly before first contact, or they’ll get really offended.”
“I read something about them in the Archive. Aren’t they like really short?”
“Yep, the tallest is about my waist height. But they are amazing engineers and inventors, very smart, and have advanced magic knowledge. They’re also a lot of fun.”
“How do I pass as a local? Aren’t I too tall?”
“They’ll assume it’s a genetic mutation and feel sorry for you. It’ll work in your favor; they’ll buy you many drinks out of pity. This might be my next world if we don’t find anything better; I love Genomey.”
It reminded me that, at some point, each of us would go on to another world, and it made me a little sad. We were at different levels of ability and knowledge, so continuing together didn't make sense, but I knew I would miss my friend. After almost four years together, he was no longer just a friend but family.
On the train ride from Lisbon to Madrid, I was melancholic. Lis noticed and asked me, “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just remembered that we will part ways at some point, and I’ll miss your company and friendship.”
“We can keep in touch.”
“How?”
“In the Archive, did you see posts that start with strange word combinations, and the post doesn’t make much sense?”
“Yeah, I wondered about those.”
“Those are messages between Traveler friends. We should choose a word combination and use it to send each other messages. And if you ever need me, send an SOS message with the Gate chain to get to you, and I’ll come.”
That made me feel much better, and we spent an hour thinking up word combinations that would suit the five of us. We ended up with a “Clueless, Hungry, Inventor, Versailles, Television.” I wanted Healer or Doctor, but they had too much fun assigning me the “Clueless” moniker and wouldn’t budge, Rue wanted “Pats” or “Scratches” but ended up with “Hungry,” Lis was, of course, the “Inventor” without any negotiations, Mahya was “Versailles,” and Lyura was “Television,” I did notice that the girl was obsessed with it. The message's originator puts his moniker first, so everybody can know who the message is from, and the recipient's moniker last so they’ll know it’s meant for them.
After we decided, the girls took out laptops, Lis and I took out books and continued studying.
After some time, Mahya said, “You all need to see this.” And showed us her laptop screen.
There was a story that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started acting weird. Sometimes, it stops working for a few seconds and then comes back; sometimes, it works faster or slower, and recently, the scientists who work with the Hadron Collider have received strange readings.
“In the next Gate, we should check the mana reading on this side,” said Lis.
We all agreed with him.
When we reached Madrid, we didn’t even tour the city; we just took a train to Toledo, rented a car, and went directly to the Gate.
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Travelers Gate #369017225
Destination: Stinojopheleshawizhnzarnoshwitly
Status: Integrated
Mana level: 46
Threat level: Low
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We touched the gate to check the mana levels on Earth.
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Travelers Gate #369017225
Destination: Earth/Gaia/Terra
Status: Unintegrated
Mana level: 6
Technology level: Low
Threat level: Humans–moderate. Other species–very high.
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The mana level went up another two points in the last four years.
“We need to start moving faster,” said Lis, “Two more points, and it will be too dangerous to go on a plane.”
“It took four years to go up two points; we have time,” I said.
“No, we don’t. When the levels rise, the speed increases.”
Goddamnit!
From Toledo, we took a train to Barcelona; urgency or no urgency, I had no intention of skipping this city. Lis tried to argue, but I wouldn’t budge. I wanted to see Gaudi’s creations. At the Sagrada Família, he admitted that it was worth the delay. We toured the city for five days. I bought some more food, and the girls bought a lot of clothes in Passeig de Gràcia.
We rented a car and drove to Congost de Mont-rebel Nature Preserve. I felt a little disappointed for not touring Spain more, but we needed to move it. The Gate was in the nature preserve and also led to Stinojopheleshawizhnzarnoshwitly. God, this name was ridiculous. Just knowing I’d need to learn to pronounce it would probably stop me from visiting a Genomey world.
After the Gate, we drove to Lleida and got hotel rooms.
“Because of the new time constraint, Mahya and I need to finish our project, which will take us four to six weeks.” Lis said after dinner, “Lyura, I found an active volcano in Italy. It’s called Mount Etna and I think you should go there to progress your element and mana level.”
He turned to me and said, “As part of upgrading your class, you must develop some ranged magic spells. Don’t buy them from the Guidance, but finish studying Mana Constructs for Spell Creation and build them yourself. We will call you both when we are done and meet in Napoli in Italy; it’s the closest major city to our next Gate.”
We decided that Lyura should fly to Sicily to have as much time as possible with the volcano. I would tour Spain a bit to overcome the disappointment, with promises to finish studying the book and creating ranged spells. From Spain, closer to their due date, I’ll either take a train or a flight to Naples.
Comments
TravelingDreamer
No marked gates in Greece. The shiny eyes are a travelers' trait, the color genetic
Obran
Gates in Greece go to Olympus? Will we ever learn if eye color has anymeaning?
